Regrets Collect Like Old Friends
by fractured rose
Summary: Specialists don't get sick. But when Ward does, at least he has Skye to take care of him. Set before Ward's betrayal. Skyeward shipping!
1. Chapter 1

**Notes:** _I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. nor am I making any profit from this fic. It is written purely for fans. There will be no slash and no spoilers for season 1 or season 2. _

* * *

><p>"Robot? I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but it's time to get up" Skye stood outside her SO's bunk, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. She sighed, why on earth anyone insisted on waking up before 7 am was beyond her comprehension. Yet her lovely (not) SO was insistent on it and Skye knew the consequences for not being on time, which was fifteen pushups for every minute she was late. And she was already ten minutes late, but then again, so was Ward.<p>

Skye rapped her knuckles a little harder on the door, groaning in frustration when it still didn't open. Maybe Coulson had sent Ward on some mission far away into a remote jungle and she wouldn't have to train this morning.

"What took you so long, sleeping beauty?" she asked when the door finally opened. Ward glared at her and promptly started coughing. Skye frowned and stepped forward, lightly resting her fingertips on Ward's forehead.

"I'm fine," he said as he brushed her hand and her concern away.

"Remember those fifteen pushups…" Skye trailed after him, silently vowing that she would never again wake up her SO if he were late.

Ward stifled a cough and a sneeze, wincing when his head started to pound. Skye had gone off, saying that she needed to use the bathroom and Ward had threatened the hacker that if she wasn't back in five minutes, he would make her do one hundred sit-ups. Skye had immediately promised to be back.

"And I'm back" Skye chirped as she stood in front of Ward.

"What are you doing?" Ward rasped. Skye had on a surgical mask and rubber gloves.

"Protecting myself. And you sound terrible. You should go sleep." Skye offered.

"I'm not sick and don't think you're getting out of training that easily." Ward resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instructed his rookie to face the punching bag.

It had only been twenty minutes into their workout, but already Ward was soaked with perspiration. He leaned weakly against his punching bag and sighed heavily.

"You are_ so_ sick" Skye emphasized the "so" and folded her arms.

"I am not sick. Specialists don't get–" Ward's face went white and he dashed out of the room.

Skye sighed after him, "Right…because specialists don't get sick," she muttered.

* * *

><p>Ward curled miserably on his bunk. He had moved a trashcan closer to his bed and had more or less collapsed on his bunk, too tired to even take off his shoes. His bunk door opened a crack and Ward let out a low moan.<p>

"Oh my poor Wardling" Skye exclaimed, trying valiantly to hide her smile. She held out a cup of something and Ward weakly extended his hand, lifting the cup to his lips and taking a small sip.

"I'll be back," Skye said and before Ward could protest, she vanished.

He closed his eyes and let out a miserable cough. He wished Skye would come back.

The next thing Ward knew, someone was gently shaking him awake. For some reason, he was comfortably warm, even though he distinctly remembered not being under blankets when he fell asleep. Opening his eyes, he saw Skye standing over him, in the process of tucking another polar fleece blanket around his shivering form.

"You think you can sit up?" she asked softly. Ward nodded and let out an involuntary whimper as the movement made his head and his room spin. Skye helped him up, propping a few pillows behind him and then lowering him back so that he was comfortably resting against the pillows. Ward gave her a small smile that she returned.

"Thanks" he murmured.

"Simmons made you tea," Skye said, handing him a mug filled with steaming liquid that smelled absolutely heavenly. Ward took a sip, letting the burning liquid soothe his throat.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were sick?" Skye asked as she perched on the edge of his bunk.

"I'm never sick" was Ward's automatic reply. Skye rolled her eyes at that.

"Clearly" she muttered, "why else would you be lying here when you're supposed to be training me on how to kill people?"

Ward winced at her choice of words and Skye looked down, picking at a thread on Ward's blanket.

"Because I was always taught that I had to protect myself. That no one else would protect me." He said it so softly that he wasn't even sure that Skye had heard him until she wrapped her fingers around Ward's significantly larger hand.

"You don't have to worry about that now," she whispered, "now be quiet, you need sleep."

Ward looked down at her as she snuggled close to him, wrapping a blanket around herself. He smiled and gently settled his arm around her shoulders, letting the mixed rhythm of their breathing lull him to sleep.

* * *

><p>Ward woke three hours later, gasping in panic and soaked with sweat. Skye sleepily pushed herself up as Ward sat up abruptly.<p>

"Ward? What is it?" she asked, yawning.

"N-N-Nothing. Go back to sleep, Skye" he said, trying to get his breathing under control. Skye's eyes widened as she saw how terrible Ward looked.

"Nightmare? You know you can tell me, Ward" Skye coaxed.

"Just a nightmare" he insisted, shaking his head to clear it.

Skye wrapped her arms around Ward and buried her face in his shoulder. She could feel him relax slowly and bring his arms up to wrap around her.

"It's okay," she whispered into his ear. Skye released him and held him at arms length.

"At least you don't feel too hot anymore," she murmured. Ward nodded and Skye saw how exhausted he looked.

"Go back to sleep, Ward" she said, "I'll be here."

Ward allowed himself to settle back against the pile of pillows and Skye rested her head on his chest. Ward smiled and brought his fingers up to run through her hair. Skye smiled and closed her eyes, sleeping in less than a minute. Ward closed his eyes and was asleep as soon as Skye.

**The End**

_Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review if you'd like. I am thinking of making this a series of drabbles involving Skyeward drabbles and prompts._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes:** _This is a companion piece to the previous chapter. A few days after Ward is sick, Skye gets sick._

* * *

><p>"Rookie. I'm not asking again, open the door" Ward all but hammered on Skye's bunk door. He sighed; this was a new personal record for Skye. She was a remarkable forty-five minutes late for her training session. Which meant six hundred and seventy-five pushups; though Ward was not actually going to make her do that as it would probably take all day to accomplish.<p>

Ward tried the door again and groaned in frustration.

"Skye, c'mon open up." Finally the door opened a crack.

"I'm not feeling well" Skye poked her head out, managing a little sniffle.

"Skye, this had better not be another one of your ploys to get out of training" Ward warned. Skye let out a harsh cough and doubled over.

"It's not" she insisted, "Do you really think I'd go to this much trouble?"

Ward sighed. He started to speak, but Skye promptly shut the door in his face. Running his hands through his hair, Ward stalked off to find Simmons.

Skye sighed, stifling a cough as she curled on her bed. It wasn't as though she was used to being sick, but it was true that she was no stranger to being alone and taking care of herself. Just like Ward, she thought. Perhaps the robot and her were more alike than either one cared to admit.

* * *

><p>"FitzSimmons" Ward leaned on the table, moving aside as Fitz pulled something out from under his elbow.<p>

"My sandwich" Fitz stared mournfully at the now squashed sandwich.

"Oh, Fitz. Ward obviously needs something and besides we don't care about your sandwich, you can always make another one." Simmons sighed as she bustled around the lab.

"What is it Ward?"

"It's Skye. She's sick and I–I–I don't know what to do" Ward looked so helpless that Simmons nearly started laughing.

"What are her symptoms?" she asked.

"She's coughing and sneezing."

"It sounds like a cold. You're a specialist and you don't know how to deal with a cold?" Fitz asked incredulously.

"Fitz…" Jemma scolded. She handed Ward a bottle of pills and a bag of cough drops.

"These should help" she said, "get some ginger ale and some of Fitz's pretzels. I'm sure he can spare some, can't you Fitz?"

"No, no, no, no wait! First you squash my sandwich, and then you eat my pretzels? You can't–" Fitz was still talking as Ward left and the lab doors closed shut with a hissing noise.

Ward hurried to Skye's bunk, ginger ale and medicine in his hands.

"Skye" he called, knocking with his knuckles. Skye opened the door again, except this time she looked even worse, pink spots standing out against her cheeks. She let out a small riff of coughs and sneezes that left her shivering. She leaned against the door, looking as though the doorframe was the only thing keeping her up. Ward reached a hand out to her, but Skye pulled away.

"What?"

"Brought you medicine" Ward held up the bottle of pills.

"Oh joy, medicine" Skye commented sarcastically. Ward privately wondered how Skye could summon enough energy to be sarcastic when she was sick.

"And ginger ale, and Fitz's pretzels" Ward held up a small bag which Skye took much more eagerly.

"I'm gonna go get you another blanket" Ward said awkwardly and hurried off before Skye could say anything else.

When he came back Skye was already fast asleep, the blanket tucked haphazardly around her torso. Ward gently shook her shoulder, eliciting a sleepy response.

"Mmm…go 'way" Skye mumbled, swatting weakly at Ward's hands. The specialist sighed and shook her a little harder.

"C'mon rookie, wake up" Ward coaxed.

"Ward…" Skye moaned as she sat up, leaning against her SO. Ward wrapped an arm around her.

"This is all my fault," he murmured, coaxing Skye to take sips of the ginger ale. The hacker eyed him over the edge of her glass.

"Why?" she asked.

"I got you sick" Ward explained, "if you hadn't snuggled with me, you wouldn't have gotten sick."

"Oh, Ward" Skye rolled her eyes, then frowned as the motion made her head swim.

"Seriously" Ward insisted, as he gently cupped his hand to Skye's forehead.

"You still feel too warm" he said quietly. Skye gave him a lopsided grin.

"Is that a compliment?" Ward had to laugh at that which only made Skye's grin grow wider.

"Is Frosty actually melting?" she teased, wincing as she started coughing. Ward's forehead creased and he gently settled Skye back against her pillow. She reached for his hand and he was amazed at how delicate her fingers were.

"Go to sleep" he murmured, resting his chin on the top of her head. Skye nestled cozily against him and mumbled something about "plush robots".

Ward grinned to himself and closed his eyes, letting himself drift off.

* * *

><p>It had been a week since Skye (and Ward) had been sick. The Bus had landed and the team had been given some time off. Fitz was trying to persuade everyone to go to the zoo to see the monkeys, Simmons wanted to go get ice cream since they were running low, and Skye was just happy to be off the plane for a few days. Ward had gone shopping, insisting he did not want anyone to come with him.<p>

"Come on robot, tell meee…" Skye was following him around the Bus as he prepared to leave.

"No. I'll be back in a few hours. Just try not to get into any trouble and I expect the Bus to be in one piece when I get back. Coulson and May will be back tomorrow."

"What about me?" Skye called after him.

"What about you?" Ward asked as he climbed into one of the SHIELD cars.

"Don't you want to see me again in one piece?"

"I'm sure you'll survive" he replied dryly.

When Ward got back to the Bus, everything was suspiciously quiet. He frowned, feeling as though something was up. As he walked into the sitting area, he saw a sight that nearly made him laugh.

Skye and FitzSimmons were all sprawled out fast asleep in front of the TV, with the credits of some animated movie with some ice princess playing.

Ward chuckled softly and grabbed a couple of blankets off the couch, tucking one around Skye and the other around Fitz and Simmons. He left a freshly made sandwich and an extra large bag of pretzels in front of FitzSimmons. Hopefully Fitz would roll over and crush the sandwich.

Finally he snuggled a plush robot toy into Skye's arms.

**The End**

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading! If you have any prompts you'd like me to do, I will do my best!<em>


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes****:** _Inspired by a prompt from Serenity Shadowstar._

* * *

><p>Ward caught a hint of Skye's hot pink dress from where he was hidden. The sun glinted off of the gold bangle she was wearing. He leaned against the side of the building and then darted out, his gun raised in warning. He was close enough to the room's open windows to hear Ian Quinn and Skye conversing. Ward had to shake his head in exasperation. Only Skye would be able to talk with a guy who could be technically classified as an evil scientist.<p>

"But do you have what it takes to pull the trigger?" Quinn queried. Ward was within enough hearing distance to catch Skye's reply.

"Nope."

He wasn't prepared for Skye to run out of the room and Ward could only watch in horror as his rookie jumped straight off the balcony. All he saw was a blur of hot pink and light brown hair as she plunged into the pool.

"Skye!" he yelled, ignoring everyone else's frantic replies over his comm set. Ward waited for a moment, expecting to see Skye's head pop up and her yell something about robots.

"Skye!" he yelled again. There was still no answer and Ward ran up the stairs, bursting into the gardens, heading straight for the pool. He could see Skye floating limply by the side of the pool, a small thread of blood bleeding through the blue water of the pool.

Racing to the edge of the pool, Ward prayed that he had gotten there in time and that his rookie hadn't been shot. He took a deep breath; the fear of water deeper than three feet was starting to get the better of him. He closed his eyes and dove in, blindly reaching out for Skye's body. His hand connected with something firm and he wrapped an arm around what he hoped was Skye's waist.

They burst to the surface; Ward's gasp of breath the only sound in the suddenly still air. Only a minute later, the silence was broken by Coulson and May running in, guns drawn. Ward swam as best he could, with Skye under his arm and Coulson reached down to help pull Skye out of the pool.

"She okay?" he asked worriedly. Skye started coughing and Coulson, along with Ward, breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief.

"Let's get you out," Coulson said quietly, offering a hand to Ward, who gratefully clasped it. Ward managed to heave himself out of the water and flopped onto his back. He looked over to where May was helping Skye to sit up. The hacker was drenched and Ward couldn't help but notice how tightly Skye's soaked dress was clinging to her body.

"She hit her head" Ward said, moving to crouch in front of his rookie. Skye looked at him with glassy eyes and then sighed.

"Feee'…tir'd" Skye slurred. She moaned as Ward carefully gathered her up into his arms.

"Let's get her back to the Bus. We can have Simmons take a look at her." May said calmly.

Skye blearily opened her eyes and saw Ward's chest, his very firm…very strong chest.

"You're so…firm and…and…robot…ic" Skye closed her eyes again after she poked him. Ward glanced down at her and smiled.

* * *

><p>"She'll be fine, Ward" Simmons reassured the specialist. Ward had been frantically pacing outside the lab as Simmons examined Skye. He had eventually gotten on everyone, even Skye's nerves. She had been coherent enough to tell him in no uncertain terms that he had to leave or she would scream.<p>

Ward's face immediately took on a hurt puppy dog look and Fitz had taken pity on him and offered some of his pretzels, which Ward had respectfully declined. Coulson had finally taken pity on everyone and made Ward write up a report of the afternoon's events. The specialist had probably set a world record for finishing a report for a mission. He was back down by the lab in less than an hour, incessantly pacing.

"She will?" Ward asked, his forehead wrinkling. Simmons had to suppress a smile at his expression.

"She _will_" Simmons said it with much more conviction this time. She watched as the tense line of Ward's shoulders evened out slightly and the specialist unwittingly let out a whoosh of relieved breath. He continued to pace and Simmons was reminded of a caged lion, angrily worrying about his mate.

"Ward, you need to sleep" Simmons tried another tactic.

"Yes you do" Fitz chimed in as he wandered past the two of them, tinkering with some object that was sparking. He winced as one of the sparks hit his fingers and Simmons sighed in exasperation.

"Fitz! Why are you making sparks?" she trailed after him, leaving Ward to continue his pacing.

"Ward, do me a favor and go sleep for an hour" Coulson came up behind the agent.

"Sir, with respect, I'd rather stay here" Ward firmly insisted. His eyes took on a stubborn fire and Coulson was reminded of how much the specialist and Skye were alike. Skye often had the same flames in her eyes when she was passionate and persistent.

"Ward, that wasn't exactly a suggestion. It was an order" Coulson's voice was still mild, but his tone held no room for argument.

"Sir, I'd–"

"Go to your bunk before I have Simmons shoot you with an ICER" Coulson flapped his hand at Ward. The specialist sighed and cast one last longing look over his shoulder at Skye and headed off to his bunk.

* * *

><p>Ward startled awake, as there was a soft knock at his door.<p>

"Simmons sent me up to tell you that Skye is awake and she's fine and that you could come see her, but that you can't– Ward, wait!" Ward brushed past Fitz, leaving the scientist to jog after him, trying to finish his sentence.

"Skye!" Ward burst into the med pod, much to Simmons' dismay and Skye's barely concealed amusement.

"Hello, robot" she murmured softly.

"Hey" Ward responded as he sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb Skye. Simmons quietly backed out, leaving Skye and Ward alone.

"Heard I was pretty out of it," Skye remarked softly.

"Yeah, yeah you were. You said I was firm and robotic. And you poked me" Ward recalled, a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

Skye's only response to that was a megawatt smile that seemed to light up the entire room. Grinning, Ward poked her gently on the arm.

**~Fin~**

* * *

><p><strong>Note:<strong> _I am so sorry for not having updated sooner. I would love more prompts, so if you have any…_


End file.
